Book picks similar to
When the Clock Chimes Two: A Short Story by Adriana Licio
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mystery
book-second-in-series
ss-and-novellas
Massage & Murder
Jenn Cowan - 2018
A professional. A healer. Not a killer. When a client ends up dead on my massage table, I become the number one suspect. I have Means. Motive. Opportunity. But I didn't kill her. The clock is ticking, someone is stalking me, I have to find out who before I end up in jail or worse...dead.
Murder at the Snowed Inn (Claire Andersen Murder for All Seasons Cozy Mystery Series Book 1)
Imogen Plimp - 2020
She knew her fresh start would be exciting, but she never expected it to be tinged with enthralling adventure, romance that’s sweet as sweet can be … and murder!Adorable and resilient, former NYC chef Claire Andersen is no stranger to second chances. She and her stock trader husband George had decided long ago to trade in their life of ambition for one of quaint & quiet adventure—by opening up a cozy neighborhood coffee shoppe on the ground floor their Brooklyn brownstone. He was the coffee-connoisseur, she was the baker extraordinaire. Claire was so happy, she could just die. But fate had other plans—it came for her husband instead.After George’s passing, Claire decides (with a nudge from her doting foster daughter Al) to trade in her life of brews and baked goods for breakfast—bed and breakfast, that is! And what better setting in which to start over than Galway, Maryland—a charming, snowy mountain town (and favorite cross-county ski destination of Claire’s youth).All is well in Claire’s new B&B venture—and with her new oven constantly in use, it’s mouth-watering, even—until her first guest is murdered in-house. It’s not long until one of the suspects Claire questions about the murder winds up dead, too. Suddenly, Claire finds herself starting over yet again—and trading in her hostess hat (she’d just dusted it off, too!) for a secret life as an amateur sleuth.But it’s not all B&B business and bodies: Claire also finds herself in the throes of not one, but two potential romances—each more toe-curling and butterflies-in-the-stomach inducing than the other.Alongside her trusty new pal Evelyn (who’s feisty enough to make anyone blush) and her faithful bloodhound Rupert, Claire races the clock to get to the next victim—before the killer does. And she knows she’d better hurry. Because if the killer catches her first, she might run out of second chances.Author's Note: This book contains a non-binary character whose preferred pronouns are they/them. If the notion of a non-binary character (and its resultant use of grammar) is offensive, then this book is not for you!
Raina Sun Mysteries: Books 1-3
Anne R. Tan - 2016
For readers who like cozy mysteries, quirky characters, a dash of humor, and Chinese-American culture. Raining Men and Corpses Graduate student Raina Sun is trying to keep her head above water as the bills roll in when her dashing college adviser cons her out of several months of rent. But her quest to get her money back sets into a motion a streak of bad luck. First, she finds the dead body of an ex-lover and becomes the prime suspect to his murder. The only man she ever loved reappears as the lead detective to the case and wants to reignite their passion (or at least he’s sending out smoke signals). Her life careens out of control as her grandma moves into Raina’s postage-stamp-sized apartment, dragging a red suitcase and trouble. Raina summons her sleuthing skills to extract herself before things get dicey. There is no place for an amateur when it comes to murder. Gusty Lovers and Cadavers Graduate student Raina Sun thought she knew what she was getting herself into when she volunteered to take the new foreign exchange student shopping on the last weekend before Christmas. But between a riot for the last hot toy of the season and an abandoned baby, the holiday is a season for mayhem, and sometimes it doesn’t pay to be a Good Samaritan. She wants to reunite the infant with his family, but calling the mysterious phone number in the diaper bag leads to more questions than answers. A strange man claims to be the child’s father, and his alleged mother turns up dead. Raina summons her sleuthing skills to protect this baby and soon discovers everyone has a few skeletons in their closets. With her pimp-cane-toting grandma, she faces an ex-boyfriend bringing sexy back as well as a murderer determined to hide the truth. Breezy Friends and Bodies Raina Sun thought cleaning her grandma's house in San Francisco to prepare for Chinese New Year would be a breeze. Instead, she finds her deceased grandfather’s secret journal and ends up French kissing the train tracks in a mugging incident. After putting the move on her grandma, her grandfather’s BFF took an elevator ride straight to the Heavenly Gates. And the second time Raina ends up flat on her back without a man in sight, she suspects the Year of the Monkey would leave her skulking in cold damp places where family secrets are better off dying with the dead.
Murder by the Cup
Abigail Lynn Thornton - 2021
And she certainly wouldn't have chosen to be cursed at birth and grow up without powers. Nor would she have ever wanted to add 'amateur sleuth' to her resume.It seemed fate left her no choice. Having been hid from the public since birth because of her curse, it isn't until Wynona's grandmother helps her escape on the Spring Equinox that Wynona manages to make a few decisions for herself...that is until a dead body is found in her tea shop.She's only six days away from her grand opening when the police mark off the area as a crime scene, putting her plans on hold.Even with an alibi, the chief of police has Wynona at the top of his suspect list and the grumpy vampire seems determined to put her behind bars. Despite that, it isn't until customers begin cancelling their appointments that Wynona knows she has to step in and solve this crime or lose her dream forever.Without any magical powers, she's going to need all the help she can get. A wingless fairy, a too-handsome landlord and a purple mouse are not exactly the dream team she had in mind.Follow Wynona and her band of misfits as they navigate a city of magic, mystery and danger in this light-hearted, paranormal cozy mystery by Abigail Thornton.
Baskerville for the Bear
C. Rysa Walker - 2019
She takes off through the woods to confront him but stumbles upon more than she bargained for--a bear trap, complete with a dead bear.Even though the sheriff and others advise her not to make waves, Ruth isn't inclined to let it go, especially after she finds an injured and abandoned cub in her shed. Will Ruth track down the bear's killer or find herself caught in his trap?
Glad One: Crazy is a Relative Term
Margaret Lashley - 2017
Two gin and tonics. Three derelict beach-bum friends. Will Val’s fourth stab at starting over add up to a big fat zero?St. Pete Beach attracts weirdos like mosquitoes to a bug zapper. But when thrice-divorced native Val Fremden feels the tug to fly back to her old stomping grounds, she finds everyone and everything she knew squashed under the heels of change. Reluctantly cast into the weirdo world of down-and-outer beach bums, Val’s got nothing to go on but her own dry sense of humor and the life coach advice of a beer-guzzling old lady she meets at the beach. When an old hoarder passes away and leaves an uncertain heir to the throne, Val and her pals stir up a hornet’s nest trying to uncover the truth. Who’ll get stung and who’ll be named queen to the throne? It’s anybody's guess.If you like wacky, deeply flawed characters and laugh-out-loud situations, you’ll love Glad One! It’s the first book in Margaret Lashley’s hilarious Val Fremden Mystery Series.
A Lime to Kill
Summer Prescott - 2015
Bad becomes worse when the shop owner's daughter is suspected.
Familiar Territory
Sam Cheever - 2017
She’d made a promise to herself it would never happen to her. For centuries her family has worn the badge of Familiar proudly, serving a long line of powerful Witches and becoming as formidable as the ones they served. But LA doesn’t believe she needs a Familiar alliance to be strong. Until people she cares about begin disappearing…turning up dead. Until a powerful and handsome male Witch walks into her life and forges an inadvertent magic bond while trying to save her life. Now she finds herself in exactly the position she never wanted. But she quickly realizes she can’t save her friends and family alone. So it comes down to losing her independence or watching everyone she cares about die. Will LA find a way to keep her independence and still save the people she cares about most? Or will her burning need for freedom be the cause of their deaths?
Welcome to Seascape Cove
M'Lissa Moorecroft - 2019
When Cressi Harris got dumped by her husband Huxley for a woman half her age, she changed everything. She left New York City for Seascape Cove, a tiny village almost a hundred miles north of San Francisco. She stopped ghost writing Huxley’s very successful mystery series and started expressing her creativity in the kitchen of her new restaurant, The Dockside Cafe. Cressi made the transition painlessly. So did Jacko, her lively black spaniel. Both of them preferred fresh ocean breezes to the traffic fumes of New York City. She never even thought of New York, except when Huxley phoned, which he did too often because he wasn’t a very good writer without Cressi’s help. Cressi was smart and good at what she did. The Dockside Cafe flourished, even in the winter, and so did her growing friendship with good looking Police Chief, Trent Marlow and crusty retired banker Kevin Rodgers. Life was pretty darned good... ...Until her troubles started. Somebody had it in for Cressi, but who? She hadn’t been in town long enough to upset anybody, had she? Apparently she had... because somebody really had it in for her. Trent Marlow wasn’t about to let anybody get away with destroying the new life and business Cressi was building. He was determined to discover who was trying to destroy her business, and why. Welcome to Seascape Cove is Book One of The Seascape Cove Cozy Mystery Series. If you like strong women who take charge of their lives and handle whatever life throws at them, you’ll love Cressi Harris and the friends and family who support her. Download the book now and welcome Cressi to your Library. I know you’ll like her.
Clam Chowder and a Murder
Kathleen Suzette - 2018
Everyone had reason to kill her. But will Rainey or her mother, Mary Ann, be accused of Celia’s death? Celia had made it clear how much she disliked Mary Ann Daye. Did Mary Ann feel her only relief from Celia’s lies was to kill her? Rainey needs to find out the truth about who killed Celia Markson, even if that means implicating the people she’s closest to. You’ll love this culinary cozy mystery because everyone loves an amateur detective trying to do what’s right. Get it now. Free with Kindle Unlimited.
Ant Farm
James M. Jackson - 2015
But the deadly picnic outside Chillicothe, Ohio, isn't the only treacherous investigation facing Seamus; he also worms his way into a Cincinnati murder investigation when the victim turns out to be a church friend's fiancé. While police speculate this killing may have been the mistake of a dyslexic hit man, Seamus uncovers disturbing information of financial chicanery, and by doing so, puts his son in danger and places a target on his own back. Can Seamus bring the truth to light, or will those who have already killed to keep their secrets succeed in silencing a threat once more?
Amanda Cadabra and The Hidey-Hole Truth
Holly Bell - 2018
After all, her family’s bus went over a Cornish cliff. Now the presentable but irritating Inspector Trelawney is dogging her footsteps as he investigates the unexplained deaths. But that’s the least of her problems. Amanda has just got a furniture restoration job at the old English Manor of Sunken Madley with its murky past. Armed only with a wand and Tempest, her grumpy reincarnated cat, she’s going in. A body, ghosts, hidden tunnels, chills and unexplained lights; can Amanda solve the mystery in time and save the village from the scandal of murder?Please note that to help the reader to be immersed in Amanda's world, this British-set story uses British English spelling, grammar and usage, and includes accents, dialects and a magical language.
Clocks Locks and Danger: A Button Up Detective Agency Cozy Mystery #1
Lizzie Lewis - 2020
Sam Jones was a detective with the local CID, and Janika is determined to prove he was murdered. Realising she has detective skills of her own, she trains to be a private investigator, and sets up an office above the Button Up coffee shop owned by Abi Wells, a girl she knew at school as Abi Button.Calling her business the Button Up Detective Agency, Janika sets out to find her own cases to investigate, having been warned by the police not to investigate her husband’s murder. But that’s something she can’t resist when the opportunity arises. When things turn nasty, who can she trust?Told by Janika Jones, this is a slightly darker cozy mystery spin-off from the series of six Abi Button Cozy Mystery Romance books, also by Lizzie Lewis. Although mainly about Janika, she interacts with many of the main Abi Button story characters.
Magical Cool Cats Mysteries Boxed Set Vol 2
Mary Matthews - 2013
Cool cat sleuths find clues as intoxicating as catnip, and help 1920s detectives solve crimes without missing a nap. In Meow Baby, a pregnant woman disappears and Grace and Jack discover a skeleton that carries the secrets of the heart that once beat within it. In Cupake Kitty, when a singer at their engagement party dies, Grace and Jack follow the trail of a bootlegger's dame to TiaJuana. EXCERPT: Magical white cat Tatania became impatient with her humans. She could smell a succulent sea bass on the other side of the door. To encourage her humans to open it, she meowed. Zeus, her black and white feline companion, responded to her meow by putting his paws over his head and his rear end up in the air. "How would you feel about spending a lot of time with me?" Jack asked. "I feel like I already have," Grace said. "It only gets better." He held up her hand and admired the emerald and diamond ring he'd bought her at Jessop & Sons jewelers last month. "Marry me?" "Of course." He opened the door to the Hotel del Coronado's Crown Room. A band played the Charleston. In the corner of the dance floor, there was an ice sculpture of two magnificent cats. "What's going on?" "Our engagement party." "Why were you so sure I'd say yes?" "I'm arrogant." In Meow or Never, they rush to find a wealthy stockbroker's missing wife. EXCERPT: Cats truly live their nine lives at night. Zeus, a cute and mischievous tomcat, kept following the tide in and out, letting the water sprinkle his nose, and acting surprised when the tide chased him back to the shore. Wet, he shook like a puppy. Then, he sniffed each front paw carefully. Tatania looked away. She was terribly fond of Zeus. But sometimes, he was a tad unseemly. He scampered exitedly towards their favorite humans, a slender woman in a sparkling dress, and a muscular man with black hair and skin kissed brown by the sun. Zeus rolled around on the sand. Maybe he had dog blood in him. Tatania shuddered at the thought of that mating. In Catty Corner, when an art heist happens during Grace and Jack's rooftop cocktail party, the cool cats pounce on the trail of a collector who finds art as intoxicating as catnip. EXCERPT:"Where have you been all my life?" A grey haired man asked a young flapper. "I don't think I was alive for half of it," she replied, blowing smoke from a six inch rhinestone cigarette holder. The Cool Cat Mystery Series can be read in any order. If you'd like to know the chronological order of the series, here it is for you: **Splendid Summer **Emeralds, Diamonds, and Amethysts **Cher Ami **Available exclusively in Grace, Jack & Magical Cats Boxed Set Vol I Meow Baby Cupcake Kitty Meow or Never Catty Corner Cat Dance 9 Lives to Live MEWOW The Fur Will Fly Right Meow
Murder on Lot B
London Lovett - 2019
The land of movie stars and perpetual sunshine has a stylish new force to be reckoned with—
Poppy Starfire, Private Investigator
. Poppy recently moved out on her own and is eager for a taste of independence and to prove to her retired Uncle Sherman that she is capable of running the Starfire Detective Agency. Her brother Jasper has also joined the agency. Poppy prides herself on being a skilled investigator but so far the cases have been scarce and to say the least uninspiring. But that all changes when Anna Colton walks through the door. Anna’s brother Roger, a famous stuntman for the local movie studio has died in a well publicized accidental fall. Only Anna’s not convinced it was an accident. It’s up to Poppy and Jasper to peel away the layers and uncover the truth.
Who killed Roger ‘Rowdy’ James?
Transport yourself back to the golden age of Hollywood in book 1 of London Lovett's brand new historical Starfire Cozy Mystery series.